1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer implemented methods in a data processing system and computer program products. More specifically, the present invention relates to computer implemented methods in a data processing system and computer program products for enabling visual selection of a media signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
People are inundated with a multitude of media options, and selecting content from those options is typically done on a haphazard, trial-and-error basis. When listening to a radio, a user is generally relegated to manually scanning each station to determine whether the content on that station is desirable. The advent of digital radio and satellite radio only compound this problem by exponentially increasing the number of available media signals and providers.
When watching television, one can manually scan the available channels, or can rely on a text description, of the available programming. Cable, satellite, and other providers of television services again only increase the amount of time spent in attempting to find satisfactory programming.
Internet sites are also implementing more streaming content. With Internet sites more frequently hosting live events and live broadcasting of streaming data, there is no easy visual method for a user to determine the current content for that streaming data. A user must load content for each site in a separate browser, or must sequentially visit a multitude of sites in order to find desired programming.